Size 18 woman dubbed “pleasantly plump friend” now feels sexy after taking up pole dancing

2020-02-27 18:45 Last Updated At：18:50

Struggling for years with an eating disorder, Nicola’s salvation came in 2017, after a counsellor suggested she tried pole dancing.

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Dubbed the “pleasantly plump friend” at school, a size 18 professional told how she feels sexy for the first time, after taking up pole dancing.

Embracing her curves, tech developer Nicola Martin, 32, who has see-sawed between a size 12 at her slimmest to a size 18 now, confessed to “eating on depression,” especially when a significant relationship ended in 2016.

Struggling for years with binge eating, then purging, as well as being diagnosed with the hormonal condition, polycystic ovary syndrome in 2012, which can cause weight gain, Nicola’s salvation came in 2017, after a counsellor suggested she tried pole dancing.

The singleton, of Kineton, Warwickshire, who dances twice a week at Pole Sensations in her village, said: “I had just come to the end of a horrific relationship and I felt really bad about myself.

“Then a counsellor I was seeing suggested pole dancing to see how it made me feel.

“It’s something I had thought about for quite some time, but lacked the confidence in myself to do it.”

She added: “I was very nervous at first, but the people were all really lovely at the studio. There were about 12 of us who started at the same time and everyone was so welcoming – it was a right giggle.”

Nicola, a graduate in accounting and financial management, includes veterinary nurses, doctors and police officers amongst her fellow dancers who, she says, like her, are using the activity to improve their body confidence, as well as their strength and fitness.

“You don’t wear a great deal of clothing for it and at no point does it feel like anyone is judging you,” said Nicola, who dances in high-waisted shorts and a sports bra, which she bought from a specialist pole apparel brand.

She explained: “You need more skin out for the poles anyway so you can grip. It makes it easier. You can’t get up the pole if you are wearing longer shorts.

“People do pole for different reasons. Some go for building up strength, some do it for exercise and some people do it for confidence.”

Nicola’s low self-esteem began in her teens, when other school children referred to her as the “pleasantly plump friend.”

“I think they meant well, but when I looked back at photos, I realised I was not even big,” she said. “It really affected my confidence.”

In her 20s, after following the Cambridge Diet, she dropped to a slim size 12, but when she ate normally again she piled on the pounds faster than before.

“I developed an eating disorder in my final year at Sheffield Hallam University, partly down to how I viewed myself,” she said.

She continued: “It was years before I got it under control. I would try not to eat anything for as long as possible, then binge eat fast food or sweets and purge.

“Looking back at pictures at the height of my eating disorder, I really wish I had the mentality I have now. Maybe it would have stopped sooner. Instead, I struggled with it for 10 years.”

Then, in 2012, when Nicola was 24, a routine blood test led to a diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome, a hormonal condition which affects one in five women in the UK, according to the NHS, and can cause irregular periods and weight gain.

“A lot of women who have it really struggle with their weight,” said Nicola, who did not want to reveal how much she weighs.

“My doctors never said I need to lose weight or anything. But I would like to be slightly slimmer – a comfortable size 16 – as I do worry about the risk of type 2 diabetes, as I’m overweight.”

Nicola finally sought help with her 10 year eating disorder and emotional difficulties after her relationship ended in 2016, when she went to see a therapist.

She said: “They suggested I tried pole dancing.

“It’s made me so much happier and I don’t feel like I need to be in a relationship to be happy. It’s changed my life.

“It’s also helped me develop some new friendships. Some of the people at pole classes are now my best friends.”

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She continued: “I have one general class a week and one private lesson. One is static and one is spinning – so the pole spins in one and it stays still in the other. When it’s static, you have to find the momentum, which means having a whole body workout.”

While some of the upside down moves can be difficult for larger ladies, like Nicola, mostly size does not matter when it comes to pole dancing.

She said: “You need to be a little bit stronger than other girls. But I just enjoy it as an escape and as a hobby. It feels amazing.”

Since she started pole dancing in 2017, Nicola has made it to the Kick Ass Curves UK final through a video entry – a competition for pole dancers who are size 16 and over.

And in just under four weeks, Nicola will be performing her specially choreographed routine to an audience in Derby at a theatre venue.

“It makes me feel beautiful,” she said. “Thanks to pole, my size no longer defines me and other people’s opinions do not define my worth. People at my office know that I do it and I’m not ashamed of it in any way.”

She added: “I will never be skinny – it’s not in my bone structure to be skinny – but I can still be proud of how I look.”

Nicola even runs the reception on some days at her pole studio, greeting newcomers and putting people at ease before their first class.

“I’m more confident, I’m happier and I will not let anybody treat me badly ever again,” she said. “I am comfortable with the way I look now, 90 per cent of the time.”

Police arrest dozens as they break up pro-Palestinian protests at several US universities

2024-05-11 09:35 Last Updated At：09:40

Police made dozens of arrests as pro-Palestinian protest encampments were dismantled Friday at the University of Pennsylvania and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, hours after police tear-gassed demonstrators and took down a similar camp at the University of Arizona.

Philadelphia and campus police at Penn took action around daybreak to remove protesters from an encampment in place for more than two weeks. School officials said protesters were given warnings and the chance to leave without being detained.

Initially, officials said 33 people, including faculty members and seven students, were among those arrested and charged with trespass, the school said. Later, school officials said nine students were among those arrested and that the remainder were people who had no affiliation with Penn. Upon searching the encampment, Penn police recovered several long lengths of heavy gauge chains, as well as smaller chains with nuts and bolts attached that police said could be used as weapons, officials said.

Protest camps have sprung up across the U.S. and in Europe in recent weeks as students demand their universities stop doing business with Israel or companies that support its war efforts. Organizers seek to amplify calls to end Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, which they describe as a genocide against the Palestinians. The top United Nations court has concluded there is a “plausible risk of genocide” in Gaza — a charge Israel strongly denies.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, police in riot gear arrived at MIT around 4 a.m., encircled the camp and gave protesters about 15 minutes to leave. Ten students who remained were arrested, the university’s president said. A crowd outside the camp began chanting pro-Palestinian slogans but was quickly dispersed.

At the University of Arizona in Tucson, campus police in riot gear fired tear gas at protesters late Thursday — the day before the school's main commencement ceremony — before tearing down an encampment that included wood and plastic barriers. The school said police vehicles were spiked, and rocks and water bottles were thrown at officers and university staff. Two people were arrested, a university spokesperson said. Friday night's commencement will go forward, university President Robert Robbins said.

And at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, police arrested 13 people Thursday night after they refused to leave a damaged and vandalized building. The charges ranged from misdemeanor trespass to felonies including battery on a peace officer, school spokesperson Amanda Bradford said. The building, Hadley Hall, was cleared and open Friday.

Protesters at the University of Wisconsin-Madison agreed Friday to permanently dismantle their 2-week-old encampment and not disrupt graduation ceremonies this weekend, in return for the opportunity to connect with “decision-makers” who control university investments by July 1. The university agreed to increase support for scholars and students affected by wars in Gaza and Ukraine.

Graduates from Pomona College in Southern California will have to travel 40 miles (65 km) for their commencement ceremony Sunday, as administrators seek to avoid a current encampment. The college said it will provide transportation to the venue, a historic theater in Los Angeles. In April, protesters entered an administration building and police arrested 20 people.

The protest movement began nearly three weeks ago at Columbia University in New York City. Some colleges nationwide cracked down immediately, while others tolerated the demonstrations. Some recently started calling in the police, citing concerns about disruptions to campus life and safety.

The Associated Press has recorded at least 75 instances since April 18 in which arrests were made at U.S. campus protests. Nearly 2,900 people have been arrested at 57 colleges and universities. The figures are based on AP reporting and statements from schools and law enforcement agencies.

Arizona State University on Friday confirmed that it had placed its campus police chief on paid administrative leave pending a review of “complaints filed related to his actions” two weeks ago when an encampment was removed and police made more than 70 arrests during a pro-Palestine rally on the campus in Tempe.

The school said it was reviewing actions surrounding the establishment and removal of the encampment. Local news outlets reported earlier that ASU Police Chief Michael Thompson had been placed on leave after he had been seen out of uniform cutting and removing tents during the protest. The school told ABC15 Arizona earlier he had left a meeting to respond to the rally.

Although their encampment was cleared after two weeks, demonstrators at George Washington University vowed Friday to keep up their protest campaign.

Police arrested 33 people on Wednesday while ousting the initial encampment. The next night, a crowd of chanting demonstrators returned to the university about five blocks from the White House, setting up tents while a large Metropolitan Police Department force assembled. After multiple warnings to disperse, protests leaders ended the demonstration around midnight. One person was arrested for throwing water at a police officer.

The move at MIT came several days after police first attempted to clear the camp, only to see protesters storm past barriers and restore the encampment, which includes about a dozen tents in the heart of the campus in Cambridge.

Before removing the encampment, MIT earlier in the week started suspending dozens of students, meaning they're barred from academic activities or commencement.

Protesters insist they will keep demanding MIT cut all ties to the Israeli military. The encampment was up for weeks and especially angered Jewish students, who held counterprotests nearby.

“This is only going to make us stronger. They can’t arrest the movement," said Quinn Perian, an undergraduate student and organizer for MIT Jews for Ceasefire. “MIT would rather arrest and suspend some students than they would end their complicity with the genocide going in Gaza.”

MIT President Sally Kornbluth, in a letter confirming Friday's arrests, wrote that her responsibility is “to make sure that the campus is physically safe and functioning for everyone ... and that everyone feels free to express their views.” The encampment, she wrote, “increasingly made it impossible to meet all these obligations.”

Associated Press journalists Christopher L. Keller, Scott Sonner, Scott Bauer and Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.